


Nam' Nightmares

by DYP



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Death, Gambling, Gen, Guns, Hell, Liquor, Trauma, Vietnam War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21597607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DYP/pseuds/DYP
Summary: "I don't like him""No one does, that's why he is good at his job"People always looked at Husk as someone moody and annoying. You couldn't have a nice conversation without him insulting or cursing. However, there was a time where he was a total gentlemen. Sometimes, life can change a man totally, and not always in a good wayStory of Husk and his team in an attempt to survive inside enemy lines
Comments: 7
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I like the fact that Husk fought in Vietnam, and decided to make a story about it. HH references will be inside the story 
> 
> Enjoy it c:

As night fell, fear among the group increased. The sound of birds and the river was the only audible at the time. The hours there passed slowly, and the dream was almost absent for the soldiers present. For a nature lover, that place would be a place of relax for his ears. Like a paradise for every pacifist person and united with his environment. However, for a SOG team, it was like being in hell itself. They knew that clearly.

“You got a clear shot on that sniper?”

"Clear as the full moon"

The bullet looked like it had been shot into nothingness. Tom couldn't be able to see the target. He thought Husk had made a random shot, and that perhaps he might have been heard by some nearby enemy. His fears were gone after he sees that, from a large tree, a corpse fell

"Surprised private?" Husk told Tom. He was speechless. It was unbelievable how he was able to see targets that he didn't even know about their presence

"I don't expect it from someone who can't even handle a fucking rifle."

"Stop with the insults Husk, he didn't even tell you a single word. It's not good to answer him like that," Doug replied

It had been hours since the three had left the rat tunnel and still had an exact memory of everything they had been through. The pain screams from their teammates, the static of their radios and the enemies that appeared from nowhere. The absence of light and the fact that the Vietnamese knew their tunnel better, was a great disadvantage for them

Their mission was to retrieve information about the Viet Cong's links in Laos. It seemed simple to the fact that it was just a mission to get in and out. But that tunnel was more reinforced than the others ones they have been. None of the soldiers knew of the dangers within this. One by one, fall dead from bullets or because they were stabbed in the back. They had fallen into a death trap.

Only Husk, Doug and Tom had made it out. They still didn't know how they had managed to find their way out, but they didn't care. They knew that place was a total danger for anyone who came down, so they decided to blow it up with the objective of sealing the tunnel. Though they had a feeling that some of their companions might have survived the rain of bullets, they couldn't risk having more enemies behind them.

Sometimes, leaving a soldier behind was hard for someone. For Husk, however, it was normal. He always told his peers that they shouldn’t get close with someone, because at some point, that friend could die and could lower someone's morale

Perhaps that's why many young soldiers didn't hang out with him for missions.

The three kept advancing through the jungle until they found a small hut. It was like everyone they'd seen: wooden doors, two floors and with a small rice farm in the backyard. But it was more isolated than the others. They began to count the targets carefully. They could see only five. From what they saw, they seemed drunk because of their difficulty while walking. It was their chance to infiltrate. Doug and Tom went behind the hut, and waited for Husk's signal to attack

“FLASHBANG OUT”

The explosion made everyone on the house scream. They swept the doors and quickly filled the room with bullets. None of the residents had reacted quickly and ended up dejected by the three soldiers.

"Clear" confirmed Doug

Minutes later, they started analyzing the house. It was a mess, but it had a lot of supplements. They found ammunition, food, sheets, and hammocks; perfect for a "good rest" after arduous fighting. They had agreed to stop there, as the risk of receiving a bullet at those hours was higher. 

"Well, folks, let's hide the corpses and keep a light gun nearby. I don't think it's necessary to attract much attention at this hour. We have to...." Doug was interrupted by Husk who was rummaging through the bodies and scattered boxes.

"Man, we got free liquor in this place. Why wasting it?" said Husk with a joy on his face

"Husk, we take liquor when we celebrate some mission accomplished. Ours isn't."

"We came out alive with this shit," Husk said as he pulled out a dossier. That document was the reason they had lost so many men. Although for him, he was not feeling bad for losing many of his comrades. The mission was accomplished... or that's what he thought

Husk started taking a set of cards out of his pocket and arranged them in one of the boxes. "Want a game lieutenant?" asked all confident

Doug deflected his gaze, which was interpreted as a “no” for answer. He couldn't believe how Husk could stay calm in a situation like this. If he said that the mission had been a victory, it was a pyrrhic for sure. Mostly, he was the optimistic person on the team. But at that moment, he was too scared. They had moved far from the range of communications. They were isolated and alone inside enemy lines. Of their group of twelve, they had been reduced to three. However, he wanted to maintain a moderate mood. He knew Tom was not someone experienced, and did not want his morale to be lowered by someone negligent as Husk

Hours passed, and he finally falls asleep from the liquor. No doubt he was someone addicted to it. Earlier, Doug and Tom had settled in their respective hammocks, but they could not fall asleep because of the fear of being ambushed by some enemy while resting. Doug, seeing that Husk was already asleep, got up and put a sheet on him. It was in vain to try to lift him, so at least he tried to protect his friend from the cold 

After a few minutes, the atmosphere was quiet. They could only hear the birds and the leaves of the trees. Incredibly, Husk didn't snore. Doug moved his head to see Tom. He could feel he was scared. He knew he was the scariest of the three. The last thing he wanted to see was him dying in that hellhole. He didn't deserve so much pain after all he had gone through

"We'll get out of here private..." he said

Time passed, but the sleep didn't come to them. They still had the feeling that there were enemies nearby. They looked like rabbits being trapped by wolves, and all that covered them was their hole. Although in this case, it was a house. And it wasn't the safest

"I know you're not asleep sir" said Tom. "So, wouldn't it be wrong if I asked you a few things?"

“Like what?” said Doug

“Why we have Husk in our team?” 

That question surprised him. But actually, he was expecting that for some time. He was the only lieutenant to accept Husk within his SOG team. His brusque and alcoholic personality made him being rejected by many of the high commands. Something ironic as many of his teammates knew of his combat skills. The thing was, only Doug was the only guy close to him. No one of his SOG team actually like Husk, not even Tom 

Knowing that they were almost doomed, he saw no reason why not to answer

“He may be quite an alcoholic and a hypocrite, but he was not that kind of person before. Life sometimes stabs you and leaves you with a scar”. Watching his friend one more time, he started talking…


	2. Chapter 2

1955….

Laughs and screams came out of the bar. It was very common for those hours, especially on a weekend. At the time, people were distracted by listening to the radio or just playing a poker game or cards.

That place wasn't impressive; it was small, overwhelming and always with a strong smell beer. But it looked like a hotel because of the amount of people falling asleep every night. That caused the local healthiness problems, as not all customers had hygiene habits. But, easily, the owner could bribe the authorities, and save his business. One side wins money; the other side wins the prosperity of his place. They both win.

Every week, there were members of mafias who gambled without having a stop, or people who were going through crisis, whether economic or emotional. It was a very gray place and a bad looking one, and almost every night it ended with the same outcome: a fight for cheating on cards or some silly reason.

Among those people, there was a girl. Long hair, thin, and wearing glasses. He looked attractive to some guys, but in the end, she was one more of the crowd. Hardly anyone was seeking for a romantic interest at that moment; either they had it, or they were sad for losing it 

She had ordered only one whiskey, and began to take little sips. She started looking around. It seems like nothing was new for her, everything she was seeing at that moment was stuff from every night. However, her attention was diverted on a person beside her. He looked depressed. Whether she was bored or because she was curious, she started talking to him

“Looks like today wasn’t your day, huh?”

The young man reacted violently, clutching the bottle he had in his hand and with a furious look, he was about to throw it at his face, but stopped right when he saw her. The girl had been a little scared, but knowing it was the normal reaction of the people in that place, it was no longer much of a surprise for her. 

He put the bottle down, and he settled in the chair. He saw her as someone who wanted to make new friends. She wasn't even looking for a fight, or trying to steal from him.  
She came closer to his side, and began to speak 

"Why don't you tell me your name in the first place?" 

He saw no reason to reject her, and he followed the talk

"Husk" replied the young man

"A strange name, are you from the city?" asked the girl

He just nodded. What did that girl want? Humiliate him, rip him out? He had so many doubts in his head, but especially he had one. Why did she approach to him? He already had a bad reputation on the streets for being a beer addict and very vulgar. In addition, he was a lonely man, had no family, and the only place he had to live, was a simple casino room. He was almost always short of company, and he was depressed. And what better solution to the depression than a good whiskey at the local bar of the town.

But by the way she looked surprised; it seemed that she had not heard of him.

"Are you good at cards?" she continued 

Again, he nodded to answer her

"Then you don't mind if we play one game, do you?" 

Husk thought about it. He only had to bet two bucks, but it didn’t matter. For him, his life was worthless. All he had were his casino skills and knowledge of some magic tricks. Nothing else. However, maybe if he beat her, he could get a few extra dollars. His expression changed quickly. An extra few drinks wouldn't hurt him, he thought

“Well….. What are we waiting for?”

He walked with the girl to a table that was free. They started putting their bets. He thought she would be angry for the amount he gave to the table, but she only laughed and they started playing.

“You ready to get destroyed, bitch?”

He thought he was going to lower his morale, and maybe he'd have a better chance. But again, she laughed, and answered 

“We’ll see who is going to end up laughing harder, little kitty”

They played a long game. It was almost a stalemate. Each sum was a nervous play for both of them. Although the deck didn't sometimes bring them the best cards to put on, they had to use their best tricks to try to get the most out of the deck. 20 minutes later, Husk was defeated by the difference of a single card. 

Looks like he wasn’t the only guy with skills on gambling 

Husk, though he was angry at his defeat, had to give what he had bet. However, he wanted to escape of that place. He didn't want to lose the only dollars left in his pocket. Mostly, he refused to pay when he lost, and ran away from the bar with great agility. He was thinking of doing the same thing at that moment. However, he stood there paralyzed. He didn't know why his legs weren’t responding

However, instead of the girl taking the money on her own, she replied:

“I know you're upset, Husk. Don't worry; I didn't want to take this game seriously. I don't want to be someone who makes you suffer anymore”

Husk didn’t know if she had felt sorry for him, but he had been shocked by his answer.

"I'm such a coward," he said as he lay down on the table. His mood changed quickly. Tears started to come out from his eyes. She didn’t make anything wrong, but he wanted to hurt her. He almost threw her a bottle, he insulted her, and almost ran away to avoid another defeat. After a long time, someone finally wanted to talk to him, but he was ruining the conversation because of his sadness

The girl pulled out a handkerchief and started wiping his tears. Although he wanted to ask her why she was doing that, he also didn't want her to get away from him. Her perfume had a fragrance that surpassed the smell of alcohol, and her skin was soft as a pillow. He removed the bottle he had brought with him, and began to speak to her

"What attracted you to speak to me suddenly? My misfortune or my shit aspect?"

"I just saw you depressed. And I don't like to see sadness in people"

"To be honest, I think the whole bar is going on an emotional crisis right now"

And he was right. Of the many casinos and bars that existed, that was the main canteen for the depressed. People of luxury or with good work you saw on the street, you could see him days later like a mess in that place. Husk was one of them.

A funny thing is that even though he worked in a casino, and had grown up there since childhood, he always went to that bar to kill his sorrows. He couldn't compare his childhood casino to the city bar. It was like his "happy place”

"Well, unlike them, you're the only decent man I've ever seen in this bar."

Decent man? Her answer surprised him. That girl was out of her mind. Although at that time he was sad, he could not help but laugh at her comment.

"Well.... I'm honestly not a decent man. And I recognize it myself. I'm someone who's lived in casinos and bars, an alcoholic man who wanders the streets and steals from kids. How decent do you find in that?" he said watching the girl

"You're the only one I see that at least it’s trying to control his mentality. Most men here act like idiots when I’m close to them. Inside of you, I see you like a guy with a good heart” 

Husk blushed. He had never received such words from a person. Especially from a girl. She continued to say:

"Well, if you say you're not a decent person, I'll be the judge of that. By the way, my name is Elizabeth"

After saying that, she pulled Husk out of the bar, and they went to a place where they were alone. None of them remembered what happened that night...

1960….

"Husk darling, wake up" 

Elizabeth's voice made Husk wake up with a joy. It was like his alarm clock. It had been five years since they were already a couple. A lot has changed since then. He had managed to climb the position at the casino where he had grown up, and he could already have a more decent salary. Elizabeth, on the other hand, had managed to work as a language teacher at a local university, teaching German.

She also took advantage of her free time in teaching her boyfriend a few words, because according to her “learning new languages can open to him new doors to the world"  
Although Husk still had his problems with the liquor, Elizabeth taught him to control his addiction for the most part. The only thing that she didn’t like from him since they met was that huge vice he had. She knew it would be hard to get every sign of liquor out of his mind, so she wanted at least, teach him which the best times to drink were, and which weren’t

She taught him some manners and some self-control to calm his anger. She always told him that he was as angry as a wet cat 

They both lived in an apartment near the casino. It was small, but it had its luxuries: a kitchen, its furniture, and a television. The latter was expensive at the time. Every week, they'd both get to see a romantic movie or news. 

Husk thought he had finally found happiness and love. Being with Elizabeth had made him see that he could be someone appreciated. In addition, many people began to see him as a trustful businessman and a quieter player regarding gambling.

Just both of them until death....

At the time, Elizabeth was watching the news. Recently, the conflict that had occurred in Vietnam was almost always televised by most channels. Meanwhile, Husk was making breakfast. He was preparing his favorite dish: Cheese with mortadella

He was happy to see the news. He appreciated the courage of these men in taking risks and fighting for what he considered "right”. There was no doubt that he supported the war, same as many men in his country.

Elizabeth, however, hated what she was seeing. She hated to see the atrocities many soldiers had done to the citizens. In addition, she witnessed many of them dying in front of cameras. 

She saw the war unfair, her country had nothing to do in that territory, and they had sent young people to die in vain. She always witnessed as young college students had their dreams frustrated because of them being called to the army.

"Seeing those bastards fight again?"

She did not answer, and only covered her face. Her smile faded quickly. She started crying. Husk knew he had made a wrong comment. He came over and hugged her.

"They don't deserve to be there… Imagine how many brilliant minds have been lost just by going to fight a war that's none of their business," she said

Although Husk shared a very different view regarding the American intervention, he did not want to make Elizabeth sad. She was someone who always had empathy for every person she knew, it didn't matter if it was a stranger. 

He remembered that even though he had been a disaster as a person, she was with him at all times. He understood her sadness

"I'm sure that war will be over soon. You'll see how most of them will come alive" he said, trying to show him security

There was silence in the atmosphere. Husk had finished comforting Elizabeth. He turned off the TV and then, both of them went to the window.

"They're recruiting a lot of citizens to that war, honey."

"I know"

Deep inside, Husk wanted to take part in that war. But he saw no reason to go. He didn't want to leave Elizabeth, or ruin his future with her. He had love for the first time. Even if the army call him to go obligatorily, he wasn't going to abandon her. He would be capable of escaping from the country with her so they can continue to live happily ever after.

"Can you promise me something?" said Elizabeth 

"Whatever you want, my love" 

With seriousness on her face and wiping the last of her tears, she said:

"Promise you won't go fight there. It doesn't matter how tempting the offer is or how crazy you are. I don't want to see you as a murderer." She started crying again, but she continued. "I don't want to lose you Husk"

He had been pensive. She already knew he intended to participate in the war if he had a chance. He could see her watery eyes.

He knew the worst thing he could do; it would be to take off that smile from Elizabeth. She had enough with him for the liquor. She wasn't going to handle the fact to see him like a criminal. Breathing deeply, he replied:

"I promise Elizabeth”, after a pause added "…from the bottom of my heart"

Seeing her face once more, he wiped away her tears, and kissed her on the lips. Both continued to witness the sun and the city. Just the two of them. And nothing was going to separate them.

“I love you Husk”

“I love you Elizabeth...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really slow updates eh? Sorry about it xD 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter 2 :)


	3. Chapter 3

“So that’s it?”

“Well, that’s what he told me”

Doug had finished his story, but for what it seemed, his teammate was more confused than ever. He did not find any coherence between Husk's behavior and his lieutenant's response

"So you're telling me that the reason he always act like a total jackass is because he got separated from his girlfriend?"

“That’s one way to say it” 

Taking a quick look at Husk, he continued to say 

"Wow. What a pathetic man. A son of a bitch whose only purpose is to making our lives a nightmare like he was the strongest.. That guy doesn't know what’s true suffering. I've lost my college future and the chance to help my parents. And he still cries for a girl?"

To be honest, Tom was not a person looking for a love relationship. He had never thought about having a girlfriend. For him, it was a waste of his time to find a person to make a family with. All he wanted to do in his life was being a simple engineer and help his parents economically

All his goals were vanished when he was forced to fight thanks to the draft lottery

However, he was surprised that Husk was shattered just because he was separated from his girlfriend. It seemed as if he had lost the ability to love in a blink of an eye, and try to release all his anger with anyone in front of him. He just didn't believe that his girlfriend was the "stupid" reason for his bad behavior

"You know, sometimes those situations can do more damage than a bullet. The bullet can easily be removed from your body and in some days, you're ready to keep fighting. But an experience like that, it stays in your consciousness and you can't remove it with a simple surgery. You've never felt what it's like to part with your soul mate, huh? Or don't you look beautiful enough to get yourself a girlfriend, soldier?" said Doug with a serious expression on his face

Tom remained in silence 

"Admit it private. You can consider him as a total jackass. But you don't even know how to handle a simple M4 or understand the feelings of a man destroyed by his misfortune. You don’t even have a friend to talk here, I can say from most comments of our group. Being alone is a sad way to die, you know that? Forgotten, abandoned. I can't imagine you in love. I'm sure if someone played with your feelings, or if you fall to someone's knees, you'd end up committing suicide if they split from you. You are also a pathetic, weak man. Deep inside, you know that"

He didn’t say anything

"You're still too young to understand. You still have a lot of things to discover in the world" Doug made a little laugh, and continued "...of course, if you live long enough to see it with your own eyes".

Doug knew he had exaggerated a little with his comment. But he wouldn't accept that he insulted his friend. Husk wasn't a bad guy. He just didn't have company at the time.

“Sir” said Tom "I just don't like him"

"No one does, that's why he is good at his job" 

Doug paused and continued

“I’m sorry private if I went too far with my comment”

Tom turned and shook his head as a sign of accepting his apology

"Rest cadet, tomorrow I will tell you my plan that can get us out of this jungle"

“Rest lieutenant…” 

By 10 a.m, all three of them were already on their feet. It was unbelievable how no enemy patrol ever passed through its place. Maybe they veered off course. Or the residence was just so isolated that they weren't even interested in checking it out.

They knew it was going to be an arduous task to go to the south of the country. They were only armed with a rifle, a sniper and a revolver; and their utility were only some few flashbangs, cans, and smokes. They weren't in the communications range, and none of them had medical training. If one of them got shot, chances are that he'd die in someone's arms. They had many factors against them

However, it was Tet's offense that had taken away their last advantages. Although they had managed to survive this unexpected attack, public opinion began to be stronger in their home country, and they totally turned against the war. From declining reinforcements and ammunition, to losing terrain by the VCs; by 1970 many soldiers had lost their faith in victory, including Husk and his team

It was at that moment that the US began to lose its hopes in the war. That attack had already sealed the fate of his compatriots. War was lost since 1968  
They were no longer fighting for an ideology. They were fighting to survive

“At least Elizabeth's dream came true... the country is now against the war" Husk said to himself. Inside him, he had a hope of seeing her smile again, even though that was a hard dream

"Remember, this territory is full of VCs. Probably many of them grouped into large numbers. You have permission to eliminate targets, but, only shoot at what you can kill. We don't want another incident like in the tunnels. Hopefully we'll make it to a nearby evacuation point… We may even be able to find food on our way there”  
They got out of the house and went to the forest 

As Doug told them, there were a lot of patrols around the areas where they passed. They had to keep their heads down between the leaves to stay hidden. They couldn’t risk firing at any target, the ammunition was scarce and a shot in vain could draw too much attention.

Only six targets were killed on their way. There were no silencers, so they improvised some by using cans. Being alone was dangerous for both sides; either for the US or VCs. 

Doug knew Husk hated stealth missions. He saw how he was making expressions that showed how uncomfortable he was for not being able to kill VCs. In addition,, he could hear him whispering cursing his luck of getting caught up with Tom. They both didn't get along, and he knew it himself

Husk did not tolerate the fact that, apart from being an inexperienced, he had mercy on wounded enemies. He always kept the revolver pointed, but he never fired. Husk always had to intervene to eliminate those who suffered on the ground.

Tom simply felt sorry for everyone, whether enemy or not. And that upset Husk.

As they progressed, they saw the corpses of their dead comrades. Some by bullets, and some pierced by thorns. The booby traps, though very prehistoric, had proved effective against the US army. “The human being is always intelligent in creating ways to destroy each other” said Doug

They didn't know what places could have one of these. Worse, the fear of falling into one of them was something that psychologically could affect an entire squad. Husk’s team was no exception 

In addition, all three of them were starving. Although the shelter had given them blankets and bullets, it had no food in it. They wanted something inside their mouths. But they didn't want to eat corpses either. They were not so sadistic to disrespect the fallen soldiers

Their luck was going to improve, however

They didn't know if they hallucinated or not, but they saw a deer at a distance. They used the sniper's scope. He looked asleep. They tried to shorten distance from him. Their eyes didn't fool them. There was a deer. Alive, but badly wounded. He wasn't asleep like they thought. The animal failed to see one of the booby traps, and his legs were trapped inside it. They came to see him. 

"Well, silenced bullet or slow death? If you choose the first one, I have a can that we can use as a silencer..."

A bullet shut Doug's voice. Husk had shot the animal with his gun, and ended his suffering. For a moment, his teammates were scared. They thought the bullet had been loud enough to attract some nearby patrol

Quickly, Doug told them to lay down on the ground. They stayed there for 15 minutes. No one showed up. It seemed that the sound was lost among the trees. As they got up, Husk began to talk

“Who wants deer for lunch?” 

With their combat knives, they began to cut the animal's flesh. As they chewed, they felt their energies recovering. They haven't had a feast like that for years. They always got rice to eat, and it was already boring to eat the same menu day-to-day. The meat was raw, but it was worse than anything inside the stomach

“You know, Husk, now that I think about it, I think it was better that the deer had bled to death. There was no need for such cruelty”

"He was a simple animal. What matters is our survival now. And if you continue with that pious mindset, Lieutenant, you're going to doom us all."

“He was an animal with feelings” said Tom

Husk started to laugh at his comment

"Oh Tom, always naive and foolish. That's the best joke I've ever heard of you. Maybe you should be more careful with the booby traps. You don’t want to end up like our friend” said while giving a look at the deer

“A deer could feel the same pain as a human, you know that?” 

“Tell me something private. Is that deer a human? No. He is just a simply living thing that runs in the forests and that can die in any moment. He is not a human. He doesn’t think. That is, unless he manages to transform himself into one” he paused and continued “Actually, don’t even think about a human form of a deer. It would be so disgusting and horrible to see” 

All three of them continued to eat in silence. Husk then pulls some bottles of liquor out of his backpack. He divided them among the three, but only Tom rejected it  
“I can’t believe you actually brought the bottles from the house” 

“Hey, you can’t reject some good shit like this”

While they were enjoying the deer's last remains, Doug began to pull out a map from his backpack. He started telling his teammates his escape route. It was the plan he told Tom yesterday.

“Alright folks, my plan is simple, we need to get to the shores of the Mekong River, crossing the forest and avoiding the booby traps. Right when we manage to get there, there will be a US base at 120 kilometers from that position. And that’s it”

Both of them remained in silence

“It sounds so simple” said Husk

“I know it sounds like a simple plan, but we are too far away and it will take us a long time to make it. However, we should make a last sacrifice. There is a big chance that comms will be available once we get into the shores” 

“How much time do you think it will take us to get into the shores?”

Doug started to pull out a compass, and said

“One day to get into the shores, and another one to get into the base; of course, if we don’t find any VCs in our way” 

“Three days I guess” Tom answered

Doug smiled with his comment. Husk stayed serious 

“This time I want you to listen carefully to what I’m going to say. Don’t shoot to any target until I tell you to do so. I know I gave you permission to kill if you had the chance, but knowing the behavior from both of you, I don't want you to doom us all just for pulling the trigger. If you're going to eliminate someone, mark them with the sniper's scope, put the can in the barrel so it can work as a silencer and I'll give you the permission to bring it down"

He made a small pause and continued

“Otherwise, if you are too hyped to see Lucifer, do anything you want with your shots." He started to lament a little bit. He was a devout believer, but he knew he was doomed to hell. Making a deep sigh, he continued

“You understand what I'm saying, right Husk?" 

Husk quickly flipped

"Why are you telling me specifically?"

“Come on, you know why”

Tom thought Husk would start another silly discussion, however, he calmed down this time

“Alright Doug... I’m not gonna open fire till you tell me to do so”

“Good” he said with a smile

They started to pack their remaining equipment. Only another stroke of luck would save them. And they knew that. 

“You guys locked and loaded?” 

Both of them nodded

“Prepare yourself gentlemen….”


	4. Chapter 4

“You got eyes on that camp, lieutenant?”

“Yes”

“I require permission to assault it”

“Permission granted” 

Doug ordered both of them to descend from the hill towards the rice crops, so they could sneak in and eliminate the targets without problems. The camp was only conformed of a cabin and the rice plantations. He stayed behind, as a sniper, preventing any VC from escaping and alerting the rest of his teammates. 

Their main idea was to skip enemy camps, and avoid unnecessary combat. But as they advanced, they saw that many bridges were collapsed and some snake pits were left uncovered. This led them to make the decision to take an alternative route, which was longer, and with a higher probability that VCs would be found. However, that road had access to the shores of the river. It was the only way to get to their first destination.

They knew that if they were found, that would mean their immediate end. His enemies knew the terrain better, and they all had training, without exception…

The two soldiers positioned themselves, and waited for their lieutenant's signal. 

“Make every bullet counts, boys”

Husk and Tom heard the signal, and started to attack

“THROWING A FLASHBANG”

The flashbang exploded in front of the peasants, and Husk and Tom quickly opened fire. However, not everyone was blinded. Some of the VC’s managed to turn their eyes away from the grenade, and took their weapons quickly. The two soldiers took cover between the houses and the crops

Bullets were flying in the place. Doug knew that his friends were in danger, and with big strength, he threw two smoke grenades so it could give his friends visual cover. The VCs, surprised, unloaded their magazines in both places trying, without luck, to take down the two soldiers.

When they started to reload, the duo started to counterattack 

One by one, their enemies were falling. They didn't know where the bullets came from. The smokes had been thrown in a perfect way that both soldiers could see their enemies clearly with the small gaps it had. The "silencers" hid the tracers of their bullets, and made their position harder to spot. Once they run out of ammo in their weapons, they pulled out their knifes. They moved like ninjas in the smoke, rotating positions, waiting for their enemies to get inside the smoke clouds, and stabbing them by surprise. Both of them didn’t know why the VCs introduced themselves so much, but they didn’t care. 

5 minutes later, there was no enemy alive 

Doug came down from the hill, and regrouped with his comrades at the camp. Husk and Tom were reloading their guns at that moment. Once they were together, they started to look for supplies that would serve them, such as bullets or grenades. But they were unlucky. The caliber of the dropped guns was not the same as their weapons

"I think we can take their guns, don't you think lieutenant?" said Tom

"If you want to have a small magazine of a gun you don't know how to handle Tom, do it"

The lieutenant was right. Although they could take the dropped weapons from their enemies, they didn’t have the necessary accessories or bullets to continue with those new rifles. The only magazine they had was the one attached to the gun. 

In other words, they didn’t get anything from the camp. Tom changed the topic and started to talk

“Someone's going to have to clean up this mess."

"Those won't be us Tom, if we want to arrive in the estimated time, we should pray that they don't find the bodies that quickly" Doug replied

“Yeah, beg... Besides, we've done some good massacres on the way here. Do you think anyone would be able to clean up all this?” said Husk

Suddenly, they saw something coming out of the cabin. A human figure had come out as they were distracted, and began to run in the opposite direction. He was trying to escape the place.

“ONE IS TRYING TO ESCAPE”

“No, he is not”

Husk shot a bullet at the soldier's head. Or that’s what he thought. Doug run to the body and inspected it. He was a kid. One that looked affected by the napalm. He looked malnourished and burned

“Oh shit…” said Doug covering his face

"Looks like the napalm didn't kill this little guy fast enough" Husk joked

They kept watching him. On the one hand, they wanted to feel sorry for him because he had surely been a child who was forced to fight. Especially since the napalm had horribly damaged his skin. However, on the other hand, they could not let him get away; he could have warned other VCs, and if that happened, they would have been dead in few seconds 

"I wonder how we couldn't see him. Surely enough, he was well hidden there"

Husk then saw his lieutenant. He was shocked. Even though he was a highly rank-up soldier, he wasn't that much of enjoying killing innocents and civilians. Husk then said

“It was him or us, sir”

“I know Husk… I know” he answered him while trying to hold back a tear

"I'm glad you're leaving that soft behavior, lieutenant" he said with a smile 

They left the camp, and kept advancing

Hours passed, and in a blink of an eye, it was already night in the country. They had made very little progress, from time to time there were camps or villages, and avoiding them was a difficult task because of the fear of getting too deep into the jungle and falling into a booby trap. They had to attack, and kill anyone in front of them. Always at Doug's leadership, though he didn´t like the idea of storming a camp every 30 minutes and shooting them all. By that time, ammunition was scarce

He only had a 10-shot magazine left, so he couldn't make a random shot. If he wanted to kill someone, he had to think of ways to take down two or more guys in a single bullet, or in the worst scenario, take down single but really important targets. 

"All right, boys. That's where we'll rest tonight." he said while marking a small village with his scope 

That location, unlike the place where they had stayed the night before, was more populated and instead of a house, there were now three. They knew it was going to be hard to clear the whole place; they had to be the stealthiest possible and put themselves in positions where they couldn't detect them when they start to shoot. It was not like the camps they stormed earlier. And of course, they only got few magazines left 

“Ok, both of you. This is what we are going to do. Tom, you are going to move though the rice farms. When you are in position, I’m going to call Husk for a flashbang, so you can take down a few enemies with your revolver. Now Husk, you see that house on your left? You're going to go through that window and position yourself in an area that it's hard to spot for the VCs. When I give you the order, you'll throw the grenade I said before, and hopefully you'll blind most of them. Remember, aim well as some of them may be stunt by the grenade and try to run away. I don't have that many bullets to kill random targets, so I'll just take care of those who try to escape, alright?”

Both of them nodded their heads

“With the help of the night and the silencers, this will be easy. Last houses of the night, ready guys?”

The two soldiers descended carefully. They split up as soon as they were inside the crops. Husk went to the window, while Tom crouched his way into a blind spot. Both of them knew that it all depends on Husk. 

He entered the house. This one was very different from the other ones he saw on his way there. It had a wider atmosphere, there was more liquor than expected, and it was more habitable than the others. Multiple rooms, bunk beds and a mirror. Besides, there was an immense amount of M16 ammo. He didn't know how they got ammunition from that weapon, but he wasn't interested in knowing. At least they will have ammunition for tomorrow.

He knew that Tom was going to take a while to get in position, so he decided to take some liquor from the place. Luckily, the owners were outside along with those who lived in the other houses

"What a coward that guy is. It’s incredible how he got a spot for our team" he said to himself

He opened the bottle silently, and began to remember all that they had done along the way. From killing children, shooting survivors to throwing Molotovs to burn houses, all three of them had done some of the most inhumane ways to kill a person. All in just one day. Well, actually it was Husk the one that got those radical ideas. However, his humour seemed untouched, and he didn’t look remorseful. He was a killing machine, he knew that. His two friends saw that he had no mercy against wounded enemies in all his operations. He was always the first to execute the POWs, and he was always looking for inhumane ways to make them suffer. His feelings were what he was missing. He wasn't the Husk who was once in his city 

As he was drinking, he felt the cold taste of the beer. It reminded him of the days when he roamed in the city bar. That drink was even the same one he took the first time he met Elizabeth. Memories of that day came to his mind

“Oh my dear. I wish you were here” 

At that moment, he dropped his set of cards. He didn’t notice that his pocket had a hole, and it made the set fall on the floor. As he picked them up, he had even more memories of her. It was the last gift she gave him before he went to the war

He saw that he was missing a card, the J of Hearts. He looked all over the room for it. He couldn't turn on his flashlight because enemies could detect him, so he was depending on luck. 

“Where are you, goddammit?”

Five minutes later, he didn’t have any success and decided to give up

His expression quickly changed to one of disappointment. He had been taking care of those cards for eight years, and now he had lost one of them just because of a hole in his pocket. It seems incredible that a person could become sad for a simple card, but Husk was a unique example. He missed Elizabeth. She was the girl of his life

Those cards were a precious object to him, and losing one of them was like getting away from her. Behind that inhuman behavior he had, he only showed feelings with her.

He decided to change his mind; he didn't want that to distract him 

“Tom is taking too much time. Fuck” 

He began to feel the atmosphere very cold. It was cold outside, but it was nothing compared to the inside of the house. Not even the beer was that fresh, in addition, he hadn’t even finished a bottle to say that his body was chill. He was looking for the reason for why the temperature changed, until he heard a voice very close to him

“So, is this what you became in the end, my love?”

Husk was shocked. He recognized that voice anywhere. It wasn't from the radio, that was for sure

“Elizabeth?!”

"I can't believe it, Husk. I tried for so long to make you a better person. And you betray me like that."

He started to turn his head from side to side. He could hear her voice, but he couldn't see her. He was confused. How did she arrive to his position?

“What… what are you talking about?” he said. He felt that she was close, but "where" was the question

"Look at you, a peasant killer… A bastard like everyone in the army"

He heard her as if she was angry. Then, he entered into another room. And he saw her

In front of a mirror, he managed to see her figure. He slapped himself. He wasn't hallucinating. Elizabeth was in front of him. But not in her human form. She got wings behind her. He doubted if it was her or if the liquor had affected his brain.

He was so focused on who she was, that he had ignored Doug's order on the radio

"YOU PROMISED ME THAT YOU WEREN’T GOING TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT WAR HUSK. I THOUGHT YOU WERE A MAN OF WORD"

Husk started shaking. He dropped his gun. He felt her voice rumble in the room. On her face, it reflected more than just anger

Sadness and disappointment

"You promised me from your heart that you weren't going to be part of this group of killers, Husk” she said as she dropped a tear "You're a fucking embarrassment… I sacrificed many things in all our time together, and I left this world hoping that you could be a better person…I was a fool to believe you changed"

Suddenly, the room was filled with a strong blizzard that caused Husk to fall to the ground. Elizabeth's figure began to stalk him. He watched her move from the mirror to other parts of the room. Like a spirit

"No, wait Elizabeth. You have to understand that this is a misunderstanding... I just went to defend my country, just…"

"DO YOU THINK THAT DEFEND YOUR COUNTRY MEANS MASSACRING A LOT OF KIDS? YOU’RE A PSYCHO AND A BIG DISSAPOINMENT FOR ME, HUSK. NOW I REALIZED THAT YOU DIDN’T DESERVE THAT LOVE I GAVE TO YOU”

She started to cry. Husk felt she was sad. Because she was right. He had broken her promise. That hate he was getting, it came from the girl he once loved a lot

"But you know something, it doesn't matter. I'm sure you're going to hell with your friends. I hope these deaths and destruction have earned you something, because in the end, you already lost me. Enjoy your eternal torture... my little kitty"

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS PLACE”

He couldn’t handle it anymore. He picked up his rifle and started to shoot without any control in the room, breaking the mirror in the process. And some other objects in the process

“HUSK, HUSK, YOU HEAR ME? GET THE HELL OUT OF THAT PLACE. NOW”

Doug's voice pulled him out of his nightmare. He had alerted the guards outside with his screams and shots, and they began to open fire on the house. The bullets he had fired inside, made the VCs realized that they had enemies nearby. The silencer was useless, because of the hit shots he made on the bottles and the mirror

He went out from the window, and saw that Tom also began to run. They were overwhelmed in number, and their only option was to retreat 

“Doug, where the hell are you?”

Husk searched his flashlight to try to locate Doug's position. But he had left it inside the house. They were both running blind. Same as the VCs, but the difference was that they could detect an enemy from a mile in the middle of the jungle, despite the darkness. In their case, they needed military equipment to see them 

“Fuck it; I’ll shoot a bullet in the air. Both of you listen to where the sound is coming from” 

The lieutenant fired a sniper bullet. Both soldiers heard it from their right side. They rushed to their position. And they were right. Standing up, there was Doug. Confused, but ready to run

All three of them got back into the jungle. But with one difference, there were a lot of patrols following them.

All the VCs in the area had their positions and knew the jungle very well. And worst of all, they had no lights to illuminate their path. They were dependent of the moonlight 

“HURRY GUYS, I DO NOT WANT THIS JUNGLE TO BE MY GRAVE” 

They didn't stop until they were sure they got far enough away from them. They no longer knew if they were away from the houses, or near the river. They were more concentrated in their survival that they didn’t care about the location. 

They looked like mice running from cats. All three of them didn't stop until they found a descent. It was not the best place to hide, but it was better than nothing. They hid quickly

When they stopped, Tom approached to Husk aggressively with his knife, and began to threaten him. He was mad 

“Tell me… what the fuck did you do there?”

Doug approached Tom, and tried to lower his knife. He started to fight to get it back. Husk didn't do anything.

"LET ME GO. BECAUSE OF HIS DUMB MIND, IT ALMOST KILLS US" 

"CALM DOWN, PRIVATE" he said before hitting him with the knife sleeve. He managed to pull the weapon off him

Deep inside, he didn’t want to hit him. But he was out of his mind, however he didn’t blame him. Whatever happened in there with Husk, it had alerted the VCs about their presence. 

“Husk… please tell me. What did you see inside? I heard the comms… Why did you shoot out of nowhere?”

Scared, and covering his face, he said 

“I… I saw Elizabeth… in the mirror… She had a strange figure… wings… I don’t know man…”

“But how? She shouldn’t be here”

The lieutenant saw how his partner had also gone crazy. Perhaps what he had seen was not Elizabeth herself, but her soul or a hallucination. It seemed that his conscience was torturing him

He couldn't analyze his situation so long, as they heard bullets nearby. They had detected their position. The three heard how their enemies began firing again

“Damn, we got to get the hell out of here” 

“But where, sir?” said Tom as he stood up

With all his sincerity, Doug answered

“I don’t know” 

A rain of bullets and rockets interrupted them and they started to run again. In the dark, they hoped to reach a place that could be considered "safe" for them. They ran and ran. They only trusted their steps and the dim light of the night. They were afraid, and were sure they had missed the only chance to get a refugee. 

In the distance, they heard missiles firing. The VCs wanted to destroy them. They wanted revenge for their dead comrades. The three of them decided to introduce themselves in some crops and grass, to try to avoid them, even though they couldn’t see a thing

That was their biggest mistake as a team

The two lower-ranked soldiers watched Doug suddenly sink into the ground. They heard a deep cry from him, and they saw how he was clutching his leg

“LIEUTENANT” 

His leg was inside a booby trap. He couldn’t see it because of the darkness, and now, it was bleeding fast. 

The two of them tried to help him 

“NO, GET OUT OF HERE, NOW”

“WE WILL NOT LET YOU DIE HERE SIR”

“RPG”

Just before the rocket hit, Doug pushed them with all his strength, driving the two soldiers away from him.

The impact of the rocket threw the two soldiers further away from the trap. Husk ended up rolling on a hill, banging his head and felling unconscious...


	5. Chapter 5

1961…

"Come on, why is it taking so long?" 

"There's a lot of traffic, sir." The driver wasn't lying. At the front of him, there was a very large congestion that covered the entire street.

“I don’t have time for this shit”

Husk got out of the vehicle fast, and threw away the cash he had to the driver, without even caring about the change because he was going to the hospital fast. Elizabeth got sick with lupus, and she was in a critical condition. And visiting her every day to find out how she was, it was a challenge for him. Today isn’t the exception. It was her birthday, and he wanted to get to the hospital quickly to surprise her. He started running as if his life depended on it.

That day, the streets had been congested with a traffic that could overwhelm any vehicle in sight. He didn't know what had stopped the cars, but all he knew was that the traffic were reducing his time for his visiting hours. He carried in his hands a bouquet of flowers and a card. As he ran, he only had the weak body of his soulmate in his mind. Alone and sad.

Husk ran at the speed of a hare, and after 10 minutes of sprinting, he finally reached the hospital gates. He quickly entered, and in the attention table, he asked the nurse for Elizabeth's room. He knew that most of the times, they changed the patients from room to room. She could be anywhere.

“Room 305, third floor”

He didn't say thanks, and he continued to run again. He went up the stairs, and pushed some people on the way up. Some of them almost fell to the floor; or from the stairs, he was lucky no one fell down. He didn't give a shit about those people yelling at him after those incidents. He had more important issues to solve.

He stopped in front of a wooden door that had a sign that said "305". It was his girlfriend's room. He walked into it making as little noise as possible, maybe she was sleeping. But after seeing her, she saw that she had finished talking to a doctor. This one didn't have a cheerful face. He didn't know what he had talked about with Elizabeth, but he decided not to think about what he said. 

The doctor left the room. And Husk and Elizabeth were left alone. With cheerful eyes and a smile, Husk decided to approach her. He stroked her cheeks, and in a faint voice he said "Hey princess, I'm here. I told you I'd be here on time."

Elizabeth let out a little laugh 

"I know. You're always on time for this."

Husk sat in the chair next to her. He started checking her condition. She had lost a lot of hair, and her skin was with a rash. Red dots surrounded her whole body. He saw her worse than other days. He found out she had gastric problems, fatigue and every so often, her lungs were failing. She had become thinner than a noodle, because most meals she ended up vomiting.

What he wanted to do at that moment; was to motivate her. Telling her that everything was going to be fine, and that they would soon return to their normal life.

"I know this is not the best place for this. But we must have a space to celebrate this special day" said Husk as he handed her a bouquet of flowers and a "Happy Birthday Honey" card.

Elizabeth observed her gifts, and burst into some tears. 

"You shouldn't have bothered.”

“My princess..." Husk replied."… you know you deserve the best today..." Holding her little hands, he kept talking. Elizabeth's face showed a little surprise. He thought she'd be worried that he could get lupus. “… It doesn't matter if I caught your disease. My weak and drunk body will not be a barrier to stop our meetings."

"Oh, little kitty" she said wiping her tears and giving a little laugh "My disease is not contagious. So you can approach me without problem."

"Oh, then I can do this" Husk replied before kissing her.

Caress her, kiss her, hug her. That's all he wanted to do. At that moment, Elizabeth's lips felt very cold and dry. Like a desert. In most of their kisses, he felt her lips taste so sweet. But this time, it was different; he didn't have that feeling anymore. He sensed it could be because of the disease she had. But he didn't care. He just wanted to be close to his princess. The closeness of both of them was great. They both enjoyed that moment. Until Elizabeth finished the kiss separating from him, and they looked at each other again. Being with her was like a relief to Husk. It was his half-orange.

"Do I bother you with the kiss?" said Husk.

"No, honey, I just wanted to get this" Elizabeth said as she took out a box from the table next to her "Don't think I forgot that your birthday is tomorrow. And it is a great coincidence that they are on days together."

She handed him the box, and she shook her head telling him to open it. It was small, and had a very creative design, decorated with colored paper and a label that said "To my favorite kitten.”

Husk began to open it carefully. As he ripped the package, he was wondering how she was able to get a present for him. She had been in the hospital for 1 month, and he was the only one who visited her. She didn't have anyone in her family alive. In fact, neither of them had a father or mother. It was the two of them against the world. And knowing how she got the money and the decoration paper, it was a mystery that he will never discover.

Seeing the inside, he saw that there were playing cards. A whole set.

"For you who love to play cards so much, I thought that would help you to not steal from casinos," Elizabeth responded with a little laugh.

"Hey, at least I'm not drinking beer like a crazy man anymore," he said while blushing. His cheeks turned red as tomatoes. "Thank you very much sweetheart, this is very special to me," he said, giving her a kiss on her forehead. "And you know?" he began to observe her. "I want to start a game with you.”

She, with a defiant face, laughed and replied "Do you think you can beat me this time, my little kitty?" 

"Oh, we'll see that, my angel."

They started organizing the cards on the side of Elizabeth's bed. They decided to play three hands. They wanted to make the most of the visiting time possible. They missed each other a lot, and they wanted to be close, like magnets. Their love was very special. Some people were envious to see how Husk had managed to have a girlfriend as beautiful as Elizabeth. Some were attacking his apartment, because of the "luxuries" he had. But I ignored them. He learned to calm down with the help of his soul mate. He wasn't the same drunk, crazy man from six years ago He was a very different Husk.

Throughout the game, they began to talk about their future plans. Especially having a child. In all their time together, they had always dreamed of having a little child with them, starting a happy family, and watching him grow up until they were old. Then; they would go to heaven to rest forever. Husk and Elizabeth already had everything ready for their lives. It was only a matter of her healing, and they could continue with their plans.

He was so distracted, that he didn't notice Elizabeth was defeating him with the same cards. 

"My J of hearts never disappoints me, honey."

"Hey, I don't disappoint you either, do I?" 

She simply kissed him on his cheek. Husk only blushed again. "I told you that you were stronger than all those bastards at the bar. You're the person who makes me proud, Husk."

Three hours passed, and those three games became ten. It was 7 o'clock at night, and the darkness and tranquility covered the corridors of the hospital. But they both didn't care. They played very slowly, because they were distracted by talking about their lives, telling jokes; in short, every good conversation a woman could have with her boyfriend. That moment was very romantic for Husk. And he didn't want anything in the world to interrupt their relationship. 

"Husk, can I ask you something?"

With certainty, he said "Tell me Elizabeth, what happened?"

Elizabeth, with a bit of seriousness in her voice, said.

"Do you still remember the promise you made me about the war?"

His smile suddenly faded. Out of nowhere, his mind was paralyzed. He hadn't heard that idea for a long time. He had forgotten that the US continued to support South Vietnam in the fight against the Communists. And it looked like they were succeeding. They said it was to defend the rights of the people and bring peace.

"They're all lies," Elizabeth always said. "During these six years, all the government did was shattering the dreams of people with fallacies, only to defend their mining wealth. Here, the entire upper class is hypocritical.”

Of course, he no longer needed to go to fight to fulfill his dream. His life was successful with Elizabeth by his side. But he was surprised that she reminded him of his old plan.

"Umm... yeah... why are you asking my princess?"

"I wanted to know if you still remember that" she said, trying to hold on her tears. She was sad again. "I know that when we met, you were eager to participate, as did many of our compatriots… and I know you changed as time went on... but now I was afraid that you might be persuaded to join that massacre… and no” She hugged him and finally started crying "I don't want to see you as a killer, Husk.”

"Oh my dear" said Husk while kissing her on the forehead. "I've overcome that... You know I'm a new man. I would never let that smile of yours fade just for my stupidity."

"Even if..." she said while crying "...we split up? Promise you won't get corrupted, honey?"

Husk approached her and gave her another kiss on her cold lips. He caressed her forehead, and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. She didn't say anything, she just calmed down.

"I promise you Elizabeth."

The doctor entered the room again and informed Husk that his visiting time was over. The couple was sad, but they couldn't do anything. For them, time had been very short. But they didn't care. Anyway, she was going to stay in the hospital, and Husk could go see her every day. They hugged, and stayed for a few brief seconds before separating.

"I'll call you at midnight to say happy birthday"

Husk, with a smile, replied "I'll wait for your call then" With a last kiss on her forehead, he left the place saying "I'll see you tomorrow Elizabeth.”

After leaving the hospital, he began to see the road. It was still full of vehicles. He decided to walk to see what was the reason the taxi driver had stopped earlier. Maybe a stoplight went out, or there was an accident. It was the most likely thing that happened.

It took 15 minutes, but at last he reached the intersection of the streets. He saw two crashed cars. They were journalists' cars from what he saw. Because the war had raged longer, newscasts like the New York Times and Newsweek began sending journalists to televise the war to the front. However, from what he heard from civilians passing through the area, those cars had crashed in an attempt to get to the airport quickly.

“They are wounded before reaching the trench. Pathetic"

He then decided to go to his apartment. Along the way, he began to remember the beautiful moments he had with Elizabeth that afternoon. Her birthday was always a day he liked to celebrate by writing her a card in different languages. Of all the classes he took with her, he learned Vietnamese with ease. He was surprised Elizabeth didn't just teach German. Every afternoon, they would both sit at their table, and begin practicing the languages she knew. German, Spanish, French...

But the language of the Vietnamese was the one who managed to dominate to the fullest. And writing poems or letters with that knowledge was something that raised his sweetheart's morale. She knew that she was proud of him for paying attention to her, and that her classes had helped him communicate with the rest of the world. 

Finally, after so much walking, he saw the dark and brick building in the distance. It was his home. He quickly entered and climbed the steps with great effort. He didn't think it was going to be a long walk. But that didn't matter. After a few minutes, he finally walked into his room. He prepared a cheese with mortadella for dinner, and began to get lost in his thoughts.

"I think I did well today," he proudly said to himself, "She appreciated my gift, and she already gave me mine in advance" He didn't know, but he started crying. He loved her so much that seeing her in that state made him sad. His fiancé was suffering, and all he could do was only waiting for the doctors to save her. But he knew she would be safe there. Lupus wasn't that lethal.

It was three hours before Elizabeth called him. And he decided to wait.

And wait. 

And wait.

By 2 a.m., there was no call. Husk wanted to think that she must have fallen asleep, that she was tired. She wouldn't forget her birthday, would she? They had always celebrated that day together, and every year at midnight, she was always the first to give him a hug.

For the first time, he got worried that she hadn't greeted him in time.

His worries ended when a few minutes later, the phone rang. "It must be my angel" said Husk.

He answered the call, thinking it was Elizabeth to say happy birthday to him. However, he wasn’t answered by a soft female voice, but a strong male voice.

It was from a doctor.

1962…

Without a full moon, no natural lighting, the streets were almost desolate. It was 11 at night, but for many who drank at the bar, the night was young. Everyone was distracted in their own things, some gambling, others sleeping after having had a lot of beer.

Yep. It was the same old bar. Another night, the same shit.

Among the group of people, there was a guy who was still self-aware. The effect of beer had not affected him, and he looked like someone who could have a normal conversation. Some people looked at him in fear; in his belt he had a knife and a revolver. And with that, he could beat most of them in a duel. At first glance, he looked like a person who was specialized in combat. In other words, a military or police officer disguised as a civilian.

The man decided to get up and started approaching a guy who was lying on the table. He seemed depressed. Next to this guy, he had an empty bottle of beer. He hadn't finished it all, because a little of the beer was on the floor. His shirt was shattered, and his expression was one of sadness. In his right hand, there were some pictures. He started watching them, and he saw two people. He sensed one of them was his girlfriend.

Maybe his partner had ended his relationship. The way he saw him, he was a mentally shattered man. Someone who could be easily manipulated. "Perfect for us" thought the stranger. Although he hated the fact that he had to change people's mindsets, he had no choice. It was that, or his general fired him from the army without honors.

He sat next to him, and to break the silence, he decided to ask him a quick question.

“Looks like today wasn’t your day, huh?”

Hearing this, the guy got up from the table. It was Husk. He had been crying as he thought. And in large quantities. The table was completely covered in tears. Whatever happened to that man, it had ruined him faster than a millionaire man who lost his money in a day.

"You don't have to answer me," the stranger said, "I think I've seen enough. Although..." at that moment he snatched the pictures from the table. "... crying for a woman is the worst thing you can do to your honor. You know there are more women in the world..."

Without waiting, Husk punched the man who had approached him in the face. His punch had been so strong, that he took him down instantly.

"My Elizabeth is irreplaceable..."

The stranger simply laughed on the ground. "I see you're someone dependent on her, huh? It shows in your unhappiness"

Husk grabbed the bottle from the table and hit it against it, turning the bottle into a pointy weapon. However, that action caused the photos the stranger had in his hands to fall to the ground, and some of them ended up damaging with the sea of tears. Husk quickly tried to recover these, looking that they would not end up completely degraded. Taking advantage of that, the man stood up. He didn't decide to help him for fear of how he would react.

The man inferred that the girl didn't break up with Husk. Death just did his dark work successfully with his girlfriend.

Husk raised his sharp bottle again, and began to threaten the man.

"Do you know what it's like to lose your soulmate? Don't try to make my Elizabeth look just like a souvenir son of a bitch. She is more than just that...” He paused to inspect if the stranger had nothing else. He only had a knife and a revolver. He snatched him out of his pockets, and kept talking. “…What does it feel like now? All alone, without anyone's company? Who's the bastard now?"

“Well, you still are" he said without hesitation. "I may die, but at least I will be sure that I will not continue to suffer and cry every day as a guy I'm seeing with my little eyes"

The unknown man was still waiting for Husk to attack. He wasn't afraid of him. He was very optimistic about his combat skills. He continued to talk to him no matter that his life was in danger at that moment.

“That's why you're here, destroyed, without a partner. Because of a girl. And look at your suit. You look like a disaster. Admit it mate, you are unhappy than a businessman destroyed in 1929"

Eventually, Husk had enough and began attacking with the bottle. The man dodged the attack, taking advantage of Husk's drunken state, and he ended up falling to the ground. He lost the bottle, and with no energy to get up, the man set his foot on him.

Recovering his revolver from Hush, he pointed it at him and he began to tell him in a serious way.

"I understand the pain you may feel for your girlfriend. But that doesn't give you the right to attack me. I just came to chat, not to eliminate someone else." 

Hardly anyone in the bar paid attention to the duo. For them, a fight with weapons or knives was a night game. No one decided to act to defend them, but there were some curious men who wanted to know how their fight would end. However, the man began to point his gun at them to avoid any gossip. It was just business between Husk and him.

"You know? We need a little more privacy to chat. Although, let's release all that anger from yours first” Quickly, he turned his gun around and hit Husk on the head, knocking him out.

Husk woke up in the back of the bar, half unconscious, and still with the effects of his drunkenness. It took him a few seconds to realize that the man who knocked him out was in the dumpster, waiting for him to wake up. 

"How was the nap my friend? I hope you've regained your energy."

He saw his watch, it was 1 a.m. It had been a while since the two of them started "talking." Husk was uncomfortable with him. First he insulted his princess, and now he wanted to humiliate him in combat. Or at least that's what he thought. All he wanted now was to kill that man.

“Go on, on your feet” said the man with a little laugh. Husk simply followed his order. He was furious, he had a bruise, and he was sick of being humiliated by a man he met two hours ago. “Heh, I’ll give you one shot”

Without thinking twice, Husk came close to hitting him, now in order to not let him breathe. However, that man was very agile. Unlike Husk, he was not as drunk as him, and could quickly react to the attacks that were approaching him.

For every failed blow he made, he fell to the ground, scaring some cats that witnessed his fight. “I hate these kittens.” he said for every meow he heard from those little animals. His opponent, for his side, was not making any effort to attack him. Beyond seeing Husk as a weak enemy, he was feeling sorry for him. The poor man must have suffered too much to get to that level of depression, and the battle for that moment was not so fair.

“Hey buddy, this is too humiliating. I think we should stop…”

“No!”

Husk grabbed one of the bottles that were in the trash, throwing it at his opponent. He managed to dodge it, but that had given Husk enough time to tackle him and leave him lying on the ground. He picked up the knife from his opponent who had dropped it and approached it to his face. 

"Last words?"

He briefly replied, "What's your lover doing behind us?"

Husk looked back, thinking that Elizabeth was watching them fight. However, he didn't see anyone on the alley. There were simply the cats that were still around them. He wanted to turn his gaze to his opponent, but he quickly used his leg to knock him to the ground. The knife Husk had in his hand ended up falling away from him, and already on the ground, the man began to hit him. Three punches were enough to make Husk lose the courage to fight.

Coughing and almost out of air, he kept expecting more attacks from him. But he had stopped. It took him a while to get his sight back, and he saw that the man was pointing his revolver at him. Husk had lost his battle.

"Looks like you didn't see that coming, did you? Admit it, you're not happy even if you say otherwise," his enemy said with a little laugh.

In the alley, Husk was defeated. Beaten, dejected and depressed. Just like Elizabeth. The memories of his soulmate's corpse came back to his mind. He missed her. He never thought he would lose her so fast. Those six years he spent with her had passed fleetingly. The only memories he had were her kisses. Nothing more.

"You look like you're a strong man, huh? I didn't think you'd put up with a fight with a military man like me."

Spitting on him, he replied, "What about that? Just because I'm a fucking drunken guy doesn't mean I can't defend myself" What did that guy want? Steal his money or take away the last of his dignity?

Accepting his defeat, he finally said, "Come on, end this now. You'll doing me a great favor"

"Oh my friend" at that moment, he pulled the bullets out of the revolver and helped him get up. Husk grabbed his hand, not knowing why he was doing that. “I never look for unnecessary fights. I just wanted a good chat with someone at the bar. What I did was just defend myself, not kill you."

With a smile, the stranger began to applaud "You know, we need men like you for major risk situations. If you were good at close quarters combat with me, I'm sure you'll get a good job in the army."

Husk surprised, said to him "What do you mean by that?"

"Do you know what this is, right?" he said giving him a newspaper. It was an article about the government that wanted to recruit people for war. "Communists are hypocritical people just like all capitalists here. The big difference is that in corruption, they exceed the average. Just imagine. Instead of having people with capital in power, now we would have people who start with nothing, and become selfish as time goes on”

"I know that our country is against that ideology." He said with certainty. “In fact, we have a corrupt country in America's backyard. You know, the Cuban island”

"And that's where you come in, my friend" said as he handed him the gun and a rag to wipe away his tears. "You can be one of the defenders of this country and our freedom. Just imagine, a man like you, congratulated by President Kennedy. You will be helping to fulfill God's will, to eliminate those satanic beliefs from that ideology. You will achieve the most important achievement of your life, and forget all the suffering that you had here, you...” He stopped his speech for a while, and with a face of doubt he asked him "Excuse me my friend, what is your name?"

"My name is... Husk" He kept thinking for a while. "I don't know... I've made a promise to not go there. Besides, I don't think I'd be happy in that place."

“So, are you happy here? Crying every day in a bar without focusing on your personal well-being?" 

Husk shook his head sideways, giving a negative answer.

For a long time, he was still suffering for Elizabeth, had no other way to entertain himself, to have a good time. Since she left, he had been all alone, with no one to give him advices for his life. He was wasting his life in liquor and gambling at the city bar. He thought everyone was against him. But it seemed that he had found a new opportunity with that person.

He thought about it for a few seconds. In the end, it was a war. He knew that his greatest dream was to engage in combat against the Viet Cong. The man was right. A person doesn't deserve to be left behind just for little things. He deserved better, and no more suffering. He then decided to accept the stranger's offer, ignoring his previous thoughts and memories.

"You know what? I accept your offer. I will go to that war."

With great confidence, he felt at that moment that life gave him another chance to enjoy the wonders of war. He was crazy, he knew it. But he didn't care. In the end, his happiness was going to return.

"All right, buddy. And I'm sorry about what I said about your girlfriend. She was very important to you from what I see” said the stranger by shaking his hand "And by the way, my name is Doug. Army lieutenant; nice to meet you, Husk. I'm sure with you; we'll win this war with ease..."


End file.
